Recent progress in modeling of cryogenic cavitation for liquid rocket propulsion

Thermal effects substantially impact the cavitation dynamics of cryogenic fluids. The present article reviews recent progress made toward developing modeling and computational strategies to simulate cryogenic cavitation relevant to liquid rocket propulsion applications. We re-examine previously developed cavitation models, including thermal effect and turbulence closures. The experimentally observed “frosty” appearance within the cavity is modeled as a mushy phase boundary. The impact of model parameters and material properties on the prediction is probed by global sensitivity techniques. Performance of the reported cavitation models is compared against the existing cavitation models and experimental data, under both non-cryogenic and cryogenic conditions. Time-dependent computations for various cases of cryogenic cavitation are further reviewed. Impact of the cryogenic environment and inflow perturbations on the flow structure and instabilities is explained via the simulated flow fields and the reduced order strategy of proper orthogonal decomposition (POD).